Radiator heat-transfer accelerator



March 20, 1956 N. B. WALES RADIATOR HEAT-TRANSFER CCELERATOR Filed May 2, 1955 W :u /.I| Il ull willlLV @Il J f 4 ll l l' l:

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United States Patent RADIATOR HEAT-TRANSFER ACCELERATGR Nathaniel B. Wales, Southampton, N. Y.

Application May 2, 1955, Serial No. 505,222

Claims. (Cl. 257-2) This invention relates to a readily attachable motordriven air impeller system for standard sectional radiators to increase materially their heat-transfer factor.

More particularly, Vit concerns a device which, at a Very nominal cost of installation, corrects the deficient heating of any one room by increasing the rate of heat-transfer from the radiator therein by an intensive air ow which directly impinges on the radiators heating surfaces at relatively high velocity.

Moreover, this invention utilizes the sectional type of radiator itself to properly shroud the air impellers, making the completed installation of the device positioned within the contour of the conventional radiator hardly noticeable.

Its operation is entirely automatic, the device starting when the heating systems thermostat dictates a flow of heated water (hot water heating) into the radiator in question. The invention senses the heated water on its arrival in the radiator and starts the operation of the irnpellers, and stops them as and when the ow of heat to the radiator is stopped or lowered below a predetermined degree.

To those skilled in the art, it is seen that the individual thermostatic control of the operation of the air impeller in each device may have a dilerent adjustment such that in a particular room the air impeller will operate over a longer period of time, as it will start at a lower critical temperature of the heated water in its radiator and hence stop at a later time than the air' impeller in another unit in another room set at a higher operative radiator temperature, although the temperature of `the water entering both radiators is substantially the same.

The individualistic time control of air impeller operation based on radiator temperatures gives a exibility which compensates for room-to-room heating conditions and requirements, a variable, that a one-station heating system thermostat cannot sense or provide for It should be borne in mind that the mean velocity of the accelerated air leaving the blade tips of the air impellers, due to the concept of the invention, directly impinges on the multi-columnar heating surfaces of the conventional sectional radiator. The heat transmission coelicient including (hland hc), that is, radiation and convection, representing the B. t. u.s transferred from a unit of radiator surface per unit time per degree F. dilerence in temperature increases by approximately if this mean velocity is l0 feet per second (a velocity actually attained), as compared to .8 feet per second, a velocity usual in conventional non-accelerated air types of radiators.

It is also seen that the series of impellers positioned within the contour of a conventional sectional radiator complement each other in air displacement such that effective air circulation exists over the entire surface of the radiator without air-noise due to restricted oritces or the harmonic beat and/or resonance of impeller blades housed within a casing.

This invention can be applied to steam or hot water systems, however, when this invention is applied to a radiator in a hot water heating system using thermal circulation, due to the greater dissipation of heat therefrom in unit time when the subject device is in operation, the circulation of hot water through the radiator is thereby increased due to the greater difference in temperature of the water in the riser and the water in the return pipe, causing a greater differential in their respective specific gravities, which factor is the motive force for thermal circulation.

The objects of the invention are:

(1) An easily applied, quiet operating, device to increase the heat transfer from a conventional sectional radiator to the space to be heated by directly utilizing the air velocity as it leaves the blade-tips of the several air impellers positioned within the contour of the radiator to impact on the radiators heating surfaces.

(2) A device which is largely hidden and shrouded by the radiators own structure.

(3) A device which is entirely automatic in its operation to reduce to a minimum its operative cost and is individually controlled as to its periodic operation in accordance with the selected temperature of the radiator to which it is attached.

(4) A heating device which, when initially installed on all radiators in a heating system, permits its own cost to be absorbed by the smaller size of radiators required, and sensitizes the heating systems thermal response to its own thermostat by greatly increasing the.

heat transmission from radiator surfaces to the space to be heated in unit time, which represents a continual cost saving in the systems operation.

(5) Other objects are implicit in the specications and drawings in which like numbers refer to like parts.

Referring tothe drawings:

Figure l is a view in frontal elevation of a standard sectional radiator shown in phantom and equipped with the invention.

Figure 2 is a view in plan of the radiator and air irnpeller system taken on lines 2-2 in Fig. l.

Figure 3 is an end elevation taken in the direction of the arrow 3 in Figure 2 and shows the thermostatic switch positioned to be in thermal contact with the radiator surface.

Figure 4 shows the coordination of the radiator and impellers taken on lines 4-4 in Figure 2 and illustrates the preferred form of the air impellers so that they may be inserted in one of the longitudinal apertures within the contour of the radiator while positioned in complete assembly on their shaft.

Figure 5 is an elevation of an enlarged fragment of the thermostatic switch showing the manually selective temperature control thereof.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 1 represents a conventional sectional cast iron radiator shown in phantom. Numeral 2 is an electric motor shown direct connected by its shaft 2a to the coupling 5 which in turn is secured to the impeller shaft 3 on which are suitably secured air impellers 4, which may be of any design butv are preferably of the two-bladed type, so that the assembly of shaft 3 and impellers 4 can be inserted as a unit into aperture 22, see Figure 4, on installation of the invention within the contour of radiator 1. Shaft 3 is sustained in bearings 6 and 6a which may be of the selfaligning, self-lubricating type. Bearings 6 and 6a are respectively suitably secured to support plates 9 and 9a, both of which have slots 14 formed in them to permit radiator clamping members 7 to be adjustably extensible in respect to the axis of shaft 3 by the loosening of nuts 15 on the threaded ends of studs 15a, which are xedly secured to the clamping members 7. The studs 15a may thenfreely move in slots 10a and 14 to engage varying widths of radiators before nuts 15 are tightened.

On the outer ends of clamps 7 are pads 8, which engage radiator 1 and which are made of felt or the like to insulate any vibration from being transmitted from the rotating elements of the device to the radiator 1. A stationary cover plate 16 covers the end of shaft 3. The electric motor 2 is adhesively bonded to synthetic rub ber disc 23 to insulate any vibration from the motor passing to housing 10 to which disc 23 is also bonded. The coupling S may be of the conventional type having a limited two degrees of freedom in respect to shaft 3 for operating alignment and quick installation.

The thermostatic switch 11 which is obtainable in the market is supported by plate extension 12 secured to housing 10 and the thermostatic switch 11 is in thermal contact with one of the columnar elements of radiator 1 at 11b, see Figures 1 and 3, which thermal contact point is substantially close to (hot water) riser 17 to quickly reflect the incoming temperature of the circulating water into the radiator 1. Hence, based on the selective control dial 11a on thermostatic' switch 11, as illustrated in Figure 5, if the control is set for 120 deg. F., the switch 11 operates to close the circuit of electric supply line cable 13 to motor 2 and start operation of air impellers 4. Conversely, if the temperature of radiator 1 is below 120 deg. F., the thermostatic switch 11 opens the circuit and the impellers 4 stop. Pipe 18 is the return of the hot water circuit to radiator 1. A conventional control valve 19 is provided in the hot-water heating circuit.

Emphasis is laid on the relative ease of installation and complete operative automaticity of this heat-transfer accelerator. Furthermore, its novel concept permits it to be largely hidden within the contour of a radiator and not to alter the conventional exterior aspect thereof. At the same time, the air velocity generated by the impelle'rs directly impinges on the surfaces of a sectional radiator at maximum velocity.

What I desire to protect by United States Letters Patent is encompassed in the following claims:

1. A device for accelerating heat transfer from a sectional radiator comprising a radiator, motive means, a shaft, said shaft operatively connected to said motive means, bearing means for said shaft, a plurality of air circulating fans, said fans secured to and spaced along said shaft at such distances as to coincide with' some of the apertures formed between the' adjacent sections of said radiator, and means to Clamp said device to said radiator whereby the axis of said shaft passes through a longitudinal aperture formed by the aligned sections of said radiator, said aperture being at right angles to the apertures occupied by said fans, thereby permitting the shaft and fans to be enclosed within the contour of said radiator.

2. A device for increasing the heat transfer from a conventional sectional radiator comprising a radiator, an electric motor, a shaft, bearing means for said shaft, means to connect said shaft to the shaft of said electric motor, a plurality of tWo-bladed air impellers, said impellers secured to and spaced along said shaft, the rcspective blades of said impellers being aligned one with the other on said shaft to permit their entry while on said shaft into one of the narrow longitudinal apertures formed by the aligned sections of said radiator, said air impellers due to their predetermined spaced relationship on said shaft positioned respectively in apertures formed between the adjacent faces of the sections of said radiator, said series of apertures containing said impellers being at right angles to the aperture occupied by said shaft, means to secure said device to said radiator, and thermostatic switch means operatively controlled by the temperature of theradiator to stop and start said motor.

3. An attachable device for increasing the heat transfer from a sectional radiator to a space to be heated comprising a radiator, motor-driving means, a plurality of air-impellers, each of said impellers respectively positioned in one of the spaces formed between the adjacent sections of said radiator, and means to operate said impellers by said motor.

4. A device in accordance with claim 3 and thermostatic switch means controlling the operation of said motor in accordance with the temperature ot' said radiator whereby when said temperature of said radiator is above a selected degree of temperature, the motor is switched into operation and switched out of operation when the temperature of said radiator falls below' said selected degree of temperature.

5. A device for accelerating heat emission from a conventional radiator comprising a radiator, said radiator having a plurality of vertical and adjaccntly disposed columnary sections, each section thereof being subdivided by vertically-aligned apertures formed within its extent, an electric motor, an air impeller, said impeller mounted on an operative shaft, said shaft protruding through an aperture formed in said vertical sections of said radiator whereas said impeller occupies a space formed between two adjacent sections of said radiator, which space is at right angles to the shaft protruding through said aperture.

Hatvelt Oct. 4, 1938 Findley July 28, i942 

